2009 Preliminary Agenda

THE GLOBAL LOGISTICS SUMMIT – Tuesday, January 26, 2009

The Problem With China – How Long Until The Scales Tip?

• Understanding that inflation, wage increases, currency and oil fluctuations have all combined to add to the challenges of global supply chain management
  
• Recognizing, too, that as China improves infrastructure and adds environmental regulation in order to avoid WTO sanctions, production costs go up
  
• Remembering that the country continues to deal with the infrastructure challenges posed by the
• Olympics and the Sichuan earthquake of May, 2008
  
• Considering the possibility of shifting to other Asian countries for your off-shoring needs
  
  • What are the implications of production and delivery from Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand?

Bringing Production Back On-Shore – Ahead Of The Game?

• Observing an increase in consumer returns of your product following taking the decision to off-shore manufacturing
  
• Examining warranty costs and contrasting them with the savings made from cheaper overseas labor
  
• Understanding that staff in factories with sometimes rudimentary equipment may not comprehend precisely what it is they are making
  
• Realizing that while the hard costs may still be marginally in favor of staying in low-cost sourcing countries, the consequences for your company’s reputation may be greater
  
• Importing your product’s parts and taking advantage of space saved in transportation through consolidating your containers
  
• Seeing the bottom line results but issuing a more reliable product to your market

CASE STUDY: Supply Chain Challenges And Opportunities In Asia

• What is the future for port activities in the new China-centric Asian supply chain?
  
• What can U.S. ports learn from their Asian counterparts in terms of technology, processing and port administration?
  
• Now that China is becoming more crowded with factories, how can newcomers like Vietnam evolve as new manufacturing centers, learning the lessons of their predecessor?
  
• How can business work with overseas lobby groups and governments to improve the sometimes dire need for infrastructure investment between factories and ports and within the port gates?
  
• What is the best way forward to creating a stable and secure global supply chain?

Building A Resilient Global Supply Chain By Diversifying Your Choice Of Sourcing Countries

• Understanding that better, faster, cheaper may not be optimal if the foundation of your supply chain is not strong
  
  • How quickly can your supply chain deal with labor disputes? Unforeseen weather events? Supplier non-performance?
    
• Choosing manufacturers with factories located near major transport routes
  
• Realizing that when taking your business into countries emerging from conflict your local trading partners will become a critical piece to your business plan and so should be chosen very carefully
  
• Enjoying the flexibility to be able to re-route shipments from other partners elsewhere in the region, should the need arise

Optimizing Your Supply Chain For Large-Scale Growth – Making The Most Out Of Your Overseas Location’s Assets

• Consolidating the manufacturer base, by optimizing source points
  
• Working with top-tier consultants to establish best practices and help improve import sourcing capability
  
• Striving to becoming an industry leader in quality standards, going beyond the call of government regulations
  
  • Observing suppliers’ appreciation of this guidance, helping them avoid risk in the future
    
• Using a warehouse consolidation facility at Chinese ports to build full containers which can be direct-shipped to distribution centers in the U.S.
  
• Eliminating the need for deconsolidation centers at  West Coast ports
  
• Saving a potential 25% of supply chain costs from Asia and gaining 2-10 days in precious delivery time

Developing An Agile Global Supply Chain To React To Volatile Market Conditions

• Identifying and mitigating against global supply chain risk
  
• Planning globally while providing for local execution
  
• Synchronizing global product data with trading partners
  
• Increasing collaboration and visibility with your offshore trading partners to match demand and supply capabilities
  

U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE

PANEL DISCUSSION: A Transportation System In Crisis – Surviving On The Ground In The U.S.

• How can the extra revenue required to expand the national network be found?
  
• How could revenue be more closely linked to the use of the transportation system?
  
  • Should more direct user charges be explored?
    
• What can be done to address the system maintenance costs that compete with the necessary expansion of the system?
  
• How can the U.S. maintain and improve its competitive advantage over newcomers to the global economy while also managing to avoid the “perfect storm” ahead?
  
• In what ways can business promote not only more investment in the U.S. transportation system, but more intelligent investment, complemented by better operation of the system?

Building A Framework To Cure U.S. Infrastructure Woes

• Understanding that it is entirely feasible for domestic freight tonnage to double and the volume of freight passing through international gateways in the U.S. to triple over the next 20 years
  
• Realizing that the significant improvements made in supply chain management are at risk of being reversed unless action is taken promptly to support commerce instead of restricting it
  
• Creating a comprehensive record of the country’s transportation infrastructure needs
  
• Raising awareness with the public, business community and government about the urgency and benefits of infrastructure investment
  
• Unlocking the potential for action through public-private investment
  
• Engaging in a nationwide dialogue on solutions to meeting the U.S.’s critical transportation needs
  
• Enjoying the benefits of more jobs, reduced congestion, cleaner air and lives saved with long-term improvements to the infrastructure landscape

Congestion, Conservation, Capacity and Competition – Clearing The Way For Intermodalism, The Transportation Imperative For The 21st Century

• Understanding the need for modal connectivity and solutions that support an interdependent freight transportation network
  
• Realizing the need for political leadership in this area:
  
  • Lack of understanding, preventing an accurate assessment of the problem’s severity
    
  • Modal silos (truck, rail, water)
    
  • Policy silos (trade, energy, environment)
    
  • Lack of national transportation policy
    
• Reinforcing the importance of intermodal connectors, the short links connecting the U.S.’s most important seaports, airports, railyards, barge facilities and pipelines to the National Highway System
  
• Adding intermodal connectors to the capital investment priorities of marine terminals and port infrastructure
  
• Recognizing the confluence of transportation, energy and environment
  
• Considering combining intermodal freight solutions with passenger needs
  
  • Could the two function side by side?
    
• Putting aside the disagreements and mistrust of the past to unite the freight transportation community in goals to lobby for new policies
  

U.S. PORTS

PANEL DISCUSSION: Port Congestion – Putting Your Eggs In More Than One Basket

• Understanding that the last five years have been fraught with issues affecting West Coast ports’ abilities to provide effective service:
  
  • Overcrowding
    
  • Labor disputes and shortages
    
  • Lack of cohesive legislative action
    
• Exploring alternative solutions to diversify your port destinations
  
  • Taking shipments through the Panama Canal to the East Coast, adding sailing time but perhaps providing a net advantage to importers due to quicker transit through the port
    
  • Considering ports elsewhere on the West Coast, e.g. Oakland and Seattle
    
• Potentially avoiding expensive and unreliable intermodal transportation as your product travels shorter distances once it hits U.S. shores
  
• Ensuring a constant flow of product to market

California Dreaming – Paying The Handsome Price For West Coast Delivery

• Understanding the governments’ wish to reduce pollution in LA and Long Beach
  
• Appreciating the need for business participation in improving the logistics facilities it uses
  
• Expecting to see new fees applied in a judicious and responsible manner
  
• Paying the extra costs in lane fees for the relatively quick processing of cargo in Los Angeles and Long Beach
  

FUEL AND TRANSPORTATION

Using Major Retailers’ House Carriers To Coordinate Better Deliveries

• Understanding that using the preferred 3PLs of retail partners may be a solution in the fight against fuel costs
  
• Realizing that house carriers may provide better rates on backhauls, avoiding deadheading trucks
  
• Comparing savings of up to 40% vs LTL carriers
  
• Countering the fact that retailers will accommodate your loads according to their equipment’s availability, rather than their demand, so this is not a fail-safe solution

Reconsidering Rail As A Viable Alternative For Delivery As Fuel Costs Continue To Rise

• Understanding that, in the past, rail was seen as less than ideal due to delays, variability in lead time and potential for product damage
  
• Partnering with companies with dedicated rail service and guaranteed delivery
  
• Realizing that if they bypass shipping yards trains can avoid coupling and decoupling and there will be little chance of losing a car in the yard
  
• Achieving 99% on time delivery and reaping the benefits of associated savings

Surviving The Chaos Of Fluctuating Energy Prices

• Realizing that the days of securing contracts where you can keep the fuel rate flat or stable are gone
  
• Understanding that shippers will necessarily pass on changes in oil prices to their clients
  
• Finding solutions to plan for radical fluctuations of up to $500 per container
  
• Negotiating differently with carriers
  
  • Accepting that if you insist on a cap to your bunker adjustment factor rate you will not enjoy the benefits should prices go down
    
  • Opting for a fuel-inclusive rate in your contract with carriers and vendors
    
• Navigating the uncertain waters of changing oil prices with more confidence for your business in the future

Fuel Surcharges – Where Does The Buck Stop?

• Coping with the unusual predicament of a slow economy and high fuel costs while still focusing on selling product
  
• Observing that once fuel prices decrease, surcharges don’t necessarily follow suit and certainly not at the same rate
  
• Planning for a scenario in which oil could reach $200 per barrel
  
• Appreciating that consumers are equally faced with these challenges and are poorly equipped to accept price increases related to fuel prices
  
• Questioning the impact on those companies charged with facilitating global trade

PANEL DISCUSSION: The Elephant In The Room – How Fuel Changes The Way You Look At Cost

• Taking time to examine your operations to work smarter
  
• Reducing the number of containers and ensuring they are absolutely utilized
  
• Collaborating with other companies, sharing trucking capacity and container match backs
  
• Understanding that the shipping industry is hit by fuel challenges, also, as fuel surcharges become prohibitive
  
• Diverting freight away, where possible, from trucking west to east coast
  
• Saving on ocean and domestic freight

PANEL DISCUSSION: Needle In A Haystack – Finding Partners To Share Your Load

• Understanding that desperate times necessitate action that may not be pursued in a healthier economic climate
• How can suppliers locate colleagues in their area shipping to the same destinations?
  
• Which vendors exist to help and how significant are the savings to be made?
  
• How can retailers help channel partners avoid empty loads leaving their DCs/stores?

PANEL DISCUSSION: Re-Thinking The Most Basic Elements Of Supply Chain Management To Identify Potential Innovations

• Looking deep within your distribution model and evaluating alternative methods of transportation management
  
  • DSD
    
  • Cross-docking
    
• Understanding your product to ensure optimized truckloads and truck utilization
  
• Taking advantage of mixed freights
  
• Understanding tried and true business practices and turning them on their ear
  
• Investigating the use of a dedicated fleet operator to mitigate the transportation crunch
  
  • Maximizing the cost and service benefit of a dedicated fleet
    
• Maximizing your efforts through solid supply chain cost containment along with smart political strategies
  
• Exploring the best means of collaboration to optimize truck utilization
  
• Using a hosted TMS to get the maximum weight on trucks
  
  • Maximize backhauls
    
• Implementing increased visibility and carrier performance management to drive service level performance and consistency

Utilizing A Dedicated Fleet Operator To Harness Your Competencies

• Developing recruitment and retention programs for your dedicated fleet
  
• Increasing on-time delivery performance by having a renewed and re-focused team
  
• Escalating the importance of cost management by ensuring that your team is dedicated to the bottom line
  
• Growing transit visibility by taking advantage of this new asset
  
• Investigating other benefits to the organization that you can develop from your newly optimized human capital

Optimizing Your Transportation Options By Diversifying Your Portfolio

• Learning the critical aspects of rail and barge transportation to decrease overall transportation costs
  
• Understanding the potential of doing back-hauls on rail by exploring the next generation rail car
  
• Implementing a rail management system to increase transit visibility and mitigate delivery variability
  
• Ensuring that you’re continually up-to-speed on the future of regulation for rail and barge transportation
  
• Positioning yourself for optimal rate negotiation by ensuring you’ve got good relationships with the different and disparate partners in your expanded carrier base

PRELIMINARY MAIN CONFERENCE AGENDA – Wednesday and Thursday January 27-28, 2009

MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS AND BUSINESS RE-ENGINEERING

Adjusting Warehouse Management When New Inventory Is Introduced Through Acquisition

• Recognizing that when your company experiences rapid growth from acquisition supply chain integration should be a top priority
  
• Realizing that each new company comes with baggage – both physical and information-based – that has to be stored somewhere
  
• Making an overhaul of each company’s inventory and deciding what items should be kept for future distribution
  
• Working with internal IS to develop a new inventory management tool
  
• Checking your expectations as IS is also responsible to the company as a whole, not just your function
  
• Moving forward with a comprehensive plan for your expanded supply chain

Slowly But Surely – Giving Time To Understand A New Acquisition’s Supply Chain Before Taking Major Steps Towards Integration

• Striving to maintain the identities of your two companies, initially leaving oversight and support structures intact
  
• Understanding the distinction to be made when the two companies have complementary, rather than competing businesses
  
• Realizing that if their market pitch is different there is no real need to absorb one name into another
  
• Working to find the synergies to drive best practices in areas that are invisible to the customer, such as procurement and replenishment
  
• Evolving to a point where the two companies’ back offices are 100% aligned, purchasing systems jointly and working towards a full IS integration

Rolling Out Existing Operating Systems From One Company To Another – Sharing Platforms Across A Business Group

• Identifying which company has the superior system
  
• Choosing individuals for the project team who are diplomatic and persuasive
  
• Building a plan for integrating processes, where appropriate
  
• Eg ordering, replenishment, in-bound transportation, shelf management
  
• Mapping out the sequencing of conversion
  
• Should it be one system at a time or a ‘big bang’ approach?
  
• Managing the change management aspect and training staff where necessary

Getting To Know You – Dealing With Corporate Culture Following An Acquisition Understanding the delicacy of an acquisition and that there will be hesitance from teams on both sides

• Acknowledging that the two companies may have a vastly different corporate culture
  
  • Eg agile vs bureaucratic
    
• Setting up a counterpart in the two companies for each senior leadership role and facilitating communication between them
  
• Opting for face-to-face meetings wherever possible, to build stronger relationships
  
• Recognizing that staff responsibilities may overlap on several functions and remaining flexible in sourcing information when requested
  
• Remembering that while the two companies go through the merger process, business as usual must continue
  
• Maintaining strong customer service priorities to provide a seamless transition to external partners and consumers

Building A Supply Chain From The Ground Up

• Creating a new department where, in the past, responsibility for supply chain was shared between various heads
  
• Dealing with other managers’ pre-conceived notions of the purpose of logistics
  
  • While a service provider and cost center, the function will also have distinct challenges and needs
    
• Understanding the strategic value of supply chain to the organization and communicating this effectively to your peers
  
• Securing a champion in your senior leadership to calibrate the organization
  
• Appreciating that having zero legacy and a clean slate might be an advantage
  
• Justifying initiatives and educating executives on the supply chain’s inherent needs
  
• Establishing teams of solution builders, not problem escalators
  
• Setting metrics for sustained growth and measuring accordingly
  
• Developing trust in your employees and understanding that the organizational transformation will take time
  

VENDOR RELATIONSHIPS

Balancing Global 3PL Relationships And Understanding The Intricacies Of Local Execution

• Understanding that some services offered by your global partners may differ, according to the region
  
• Eg trucking hours of service in the US vs regulations in Europe
  
• Identifying which 3PLs are strongest in your regions of operation and establishing relationships accordingly
  
• Providing your national managers with sufficient training so that they can maximize partnerships to the fullest
  
• Organizing your teams with specific responsibilities for tactical and strategic action in maintaining close relations with your supply chain partners

PANEL DISCUSSION: Outsourcing, Direct-Store-Delivery And Nailing The Last Mile – How Close Is The 3PL To Your Core Business?

• Integrating into your own supplier’s work plan the retailer’s particular preferences in the way they want product presented
  
• Adding the supervision and spot-checking of this work to your own company’s work plan
  
• Understanding that with this model your 3PL becomes your contact with the world, representing you at customs should your containers be opened, and also with the retailer, should the product not be provided in the way they stipulated
  
• Realizing further that with this model you risk never seeing your product at all, necessitating a high level of trust between the manufacturer, the 3PL, the supplier and the retailer
  
• Weighing up the benefits of direct-store-delivery and the potential costs to the retailer relationship when you hand over the responsibility for meeting their requirements to an outside party
  

COLLABORATION

PANEL DISCUSSION: Overcoming The Fears Inside Your Organization Of Affecting Your Competitive Advantage By Sharing Your Company’s Data

• Understanding that it is reasonable for some people to be apprehensive about having information flow two ways
  
• Listening to the arguments for sharing data put forward by colleagues
  
• Researching the compelling evidence that combining products to deliver to the same markets and geographical areas can drive out costs and reduce lead time variability
  
• Realizing that managing inventory with predictable, reliable and damage-free transportation is better for everyone involved in the supply chain
  
• Reducing your company’s overall transportation spend

PANEL DISCUSSION: Collaborating On Fuel – Getting Down To Brass Tacks And Thinking Smart

• Understanding that inventory management is key in keeping capital costs low
  
• What are the most efficient ways to move product through the supply chain, given the current cost of fuel?
  
• How much product should be held in one place?
  
• What is the correct balance of inventory to be carried compared with fuel costs?
  
• How can you better define delivery routes?
  
• How can you use partners to take up capacity or to eliminate unproductive runs?
  
• Are there other ways to deal with diesel-based freight activities?
  
• Eg could a supplier’s fleet pass by the DC and take up some of the retailer’s store delivery tasks?
  
• What are some ways to better consolidate loads for reduced journeys?

Working Together To Consolidate Truckloads

• Co-locating products, allowing the retailer to make full trucks and splitting the delivery costs
  
• Working with third-party consolidation vendors, allowing them to manage the partnering process
  
• Providing manufacturers with a service they can offer to other retailers
  
• Consulting a load-building software to optimize your deliveries and routes

Suppliers’ Summits – Why So Critical Now?

• Understanding the critical role suppliers play in your business success
  
• Recognizing that, as a partner of yours, their work is a reflection of your own company’s vision
  
• Addressing topics with them such as improving profitability, sustainability, collaborative innovation
  
• Looking at their operations and seeing if these can be replicated in your own business
  
• Exploring whether parts of your supply chain might be outsourced and seeking feedback from your suppliers

Creating A Mutually Beneficial 3PL Partnership For Growth

• Establishing relationships and setting up infrastructure so you can monitor your 3PL’s service, cost and fuel issues, coming to a collaborative decision on surcharges
  
• Engaging with the 3PL to identify routes that ensure the truck is continuously moving, keeping the carrier’s asset in use, reducing out-of-route miles and freight charges
  
• Implementing increased visibility and carrier performance management to drive service-level performance and consistency
  
• Assuming responsibility for much of your inbound transportation and benefiting by consolidating freight and making fewer journeys
  
• Minimizing inventory and maximizing service level for DCs

Supplier-Manufacturer Collaboration – The Third Way To Successful Outsourcing

• Understanding that suppliers in developing countries are being hit hard by the current economic downturn
  
• Recognizing that many good factories are on the verge of closing because of strong competition and increased wages
  
• Establishing a new kind of partnership, in which the sourcing company fits out the supplier’s factory (or builds from the ground up) using their own engineers and to pre-ordained high standards
  
• Becoming this factory’s sole client and guaranteeing full productivity for an agreed amount of time
  
• Avoiding the financial liabilities of being responsible for employees and the real estate
  
• Enjoying the benefits of a facility designed specifically for your needs and flexible enough to adapt to your changing requirements, reducing lead times

PANEL DISCUSSION: Addressing Different Expectations In Dealing With Overseas Value Chain Partners

• Researching the business practices and culture in general of your new partner’s country, networking with others who have worked in the region to acquire first-hand knowledge
  
• Understanding that other countries have different regulations for the shelf life and labeling requirements of a product and your production and distribution plans need to tackle these variations
  
• Other differences can include more stringent arrive-by dates, in which failing to meet them is a matter of personal pride
  
• Providing realistic deadlines in terms of your own needs for outsourcing production
  
• Collaborating with production and sourcing partners worldwide to cost-effectively satisfy demand and optimize inventory investments
  

INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

Global Demand Planning Challenges – Getting A More Accurate And Timely Link From Sales To Supply Chain And Out To The Shelf

• What information is available to provide a more reliable signal to plants to help them function more effectively?
  
• Instead of chasing demand planning processes, can this be developed collectively just once and applied throughout the supply chain?
  
• Avoiding cost and driving improvements in order to deploy solutions into your global businesses

PANEL DISCUSSION: Minimizing Variability In International Deliveries

• Understanding that domestically, the challenge is to reduce lead time
  
• Appreciating that for international business, metrics are more focused on reducing the variability of arrival, rather than necessarily reducing the lead time
  
• Building this variability into your distribution cost and accepting to let product sit in the warehouse/DC
  
• Recognizing that as cost-cutting becomes a priority, the challenge is now to find out how to achieve a more precise timeline for international delivery
  

COST CUTTING AND SUPPLY CHAIN OPTIMIZATION

Taking A Top-Level View Of Cost-Cutting – Leaving No Stone Unturned

• Diving deep into every component of the business, looking at supply chain, inventory management, procurement to look for savings opportunities
  
• Creating a cost-cutting project team, made up of leaders from all major business areas
  
• Seeing what the network looks like and where you have duplication in processes
  
• Dedicating resources and investment to act where there is room for improvement

Never Waste A Good Downturn – Looking Hard At Your Organization

• Understanding that when the economy turns bad you can make the most of the situation by seeing the residue ‘at the bottom of the lake’
  
• If volumes are down, taking the bandwidth to redeploy to improve your operation
  
• Redesigning your entire supply chain network to respond to changing store needs of what products need to sit or to flow, and when
  
• Finding new ways to add immediate speed and flexibility to service your channel partners
  
• Coming out of the trough with a tighter and stronger business

Planning For The Future – Rebuilding A Flexible Supply Chain To Align With Retail Growth

• Locating more DCs closer to the store, achieving better utilization on both sides of the trucking, each DC serving approximately 100 stores
  
• Understanding that store staff should be on the floor selling, not managing trucking receipts at the loading dock
  
• Integrating different delivery functions into one system
  
• International DCs, Cross-docks, specialty DCs for specific products
  
• Instead of building supply chain around major assets, concentrating on building small, rapid-moving DCs and not holding inventory
  
• Convincing executives and company board members to invest in the largest ever retail supply chain transformation

Working Capital Optimization – Taking Stock Of Raw Material And Packing Materials With Finished Goods

• Understanding that an inefficient working capital management process means investing more cash in materials than necessary
  
• Exploring and implementing new tools for inventory optimization
  
• Constantly examining your working capital and making consistent value judgments
  
• Understanding your business’ perspective in order to add value
  
  • Maturity perspective vs. capability perspective.
    
• Understanding when implementing a software solution will work and when it won’t
  
  • Optimization of business vs. sacrificing resources
    
• Resisting going after the latest trick as a quick-fix for your working capital optimization

Assessing The Geographical Choice Of Your Trading Partners – Asia Or Latin America?

• Weighing up the options of outsourcing production into China and Peru
  
• Seeing the benefits of significantly shorter lead times in Peru, compared with cheaper labor in China
  
• Remembering that the new free trade agreement facilitates business as there are no quotas or duties to pay for customs
  
• Considering Peru’s proximity to the U.S., both in distance and timezone, in moving production south of the border rather than overseas

NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Customers Are Fickle – Keeping Supply Chain One Step Ahead

• Recognizing the enormous impact of new product launches and promotion on your annual gross sales
  
• Developing a robust calendar and timelines for product development and delivery
  
• Reducing the launch-to-fruition timeline from 18 to nine months
  
• Diversifying with 15-20 different initiatives at any given moment
  
  • Eg a repackaging effort, rather than an entirely new product
    
• Working with packaging and new product development teams in consultation with cost and marketing teams to provide an initial forecast
  
• Striving to meet customer demand and production deadlines

Sharing Information Between Retailers And Manufacturers To Facilitate Product Innovation

• Building partnerships and sharing information to help with successful product launches
  
• Sourcing information from retailers on customers and marketing vehicles and using a preferred retailer as a test market
  
• Learning from retailer data about what kinds of items resonate with consumers
  
• Understanding that retailers want innovative product on their shelves to help build their competitive advantage
  

TALENT MANAGEMENT

PANEL DISCUSSION: Identifying The Talent You Need For Your Supply Chain Organization

• Realizing that in the past most supply chain staff came from an engineering or technical background
  
• Understanding that today’s employees need to be able to communicate processes effectively and explain to others why change needs to happen
  
• Identifying effective change management and leadership skills for your future recruitment
  
• Recognizing, also, that, as baby boomers prepare to retire, flexible working hours may be a solution for potential loss of corporate knowledge
  
• Building plans to move the right people through the organization, where appropriate

Examining Recruitment And Talent Management For Your Supply Chain Organization As Your CEO Examines The Entire Organization

• Looking at yourself as the Supply Chain organization’s CEO
  
• Understanding that the next generation of Supply Chain executives needs to have top-level business acumen
  
• Recruiting executives that have multifaceted business backgrounds
  
• Ensuring your new hires are entrepreneurs and go at their job functions as CEOs themselves
  
• Moving forward with strategic thinkers in all areas of the supply chain organization to ensure a forward thinking and action oriented team and culture
  

CUSTOMS AND COMPLIANCE

C-TPAT – Signing On For Tighter Supply Chain Security

• The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program is US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) premier trade security program. The purpose of C-TPAT is to partner with the trade community for the purpose of securing the US and international supply chains from possible intrusion by terrorist organizations. In 2007, C-TPAT validated 3011 supply chains, a 27% increase from 2006. What steps must a new company must take in order to reach preferred status?
  
• Consistently sourcing new technologies to ensure that your security stays ahead of the curve
  
• Understanding what technologies serve as an effective means with which to master safety while maintaining speed
  
• Examining the economics of full implementation of regulations from the supplier through to the final point of sale
  
• Guaranteeing that every party’s total focus and decision-making is determined by ensuring safe and secure assets

PANEL DISCUSSION: Realizing The Understandable Goals Of Government Regulations Yet Urging Policymakers To Keep Business In Mind And In The Loop When Setting Mandates

• Stipulating from the outset that new measures should not come at the expense of getting product to the consumer as efficiently as possible
  
• How will the government establish the required infrastructure to conduct vastly increased inspections?
  
  • Who will foot the bill?
    
• Is there any assurance that 100% inspection and 10+2 filing data will be the final aspects of an already comprehensive and effective security system?
  
  • Is there an end game?
    
• How can compliance by countries of origin be guaranteed?
  
  • What would happen if a foreign port refused to allow U.S. inspections of shipments prior to departure?
    
• When will radiation scanners be able to make viable detections?
  
  • What is the potential impact of 10% error rate currently being reported in tests?
    
• How can business work more effectively and earlier with government to ensure policymakers are aware of the full scope of these issues?

Supply Chain Security – Avoiding The Potential Pitfalls Of Importing And Addressing Major Areas Of Concern

• Complying with government regulations
  
  • Customs and Border Protection
    
  • Social compliance
    
  • Other agencies, for example Food and Drug Administration, Consumer Product Safety Commission and Federal Trade Commission
    
• Establishing a clear system for maintaining control over product quality and shipment information
  
• Ensuring your technology is flexible enough to integrate new government data reporting requirements as they arise
  
• Avoiding disruptions in your supply chain as it becomes more accurate, compliant, secure, visible and predictable

Reducing Audit Fatigue In Factories By Sharing Supplier Information Among Retailers And Brands

• Tracking factory compliance in an efficient and cost effective way through a web-based software tool
  
• Gaining knowledge about critical compliance issues in the supply chain
  
• Deciding which information to share with other members and having the option to expand on this with them off-line should you wish to do so
  
• Accessing a database of over 13,000 suppliers and 25,000 audits
  
• Sharing information on best practices and contributing to the knowledge of working conditions around the world

Pursuing An Economically And Socially Balanced Customs Compliance Strategy

• Understanding the direct and indirect benefits of customs compliance and the best means of execution
  
• Learning about the major challenges in becoming CT-PAT complaint by hearing about the experiences of Tier 3 CT-PAT compliant companies
  
• Understanding the business case for certification and the potential pitfalls of not getting on board
  
• Understanding the resources needed and best approaches to participation
  
• Getting collaboration, product information and shipment visibility from trading partners to ensure compliance with all customs and regulatory agency import requirements
  

SUSTAINABILITY

PANEL DISCUSSION: Greening The Global Supply Chain: Tactics, Tools And Technology

• Understanding that the technologies to green your supply chain are already out there and being implemented by industry leaders
  
• Exploring compact product packaging and containers
  
• Adjusting order and delivery schedules and routes
  
• Exploring alternative energies and modes of transportation
  
• Planning for some retailers’ rules that all waste packaging from delivery of products be disposed of by the vendor
  
• Improving planning, forecasting and replenishment, thereby driving efficiency in distribution for reduced consumption, as well as improved overall operations

Developing A Sustainability Plan For Improving Your Supply Chain

• Identifying which functions need to adapt and setting timelines
  
  • Distribution
    
    • Purchasing reusable storage containers
      
    • Adopting the use of recyclable packaging
      
  • Transportation
    
    • Reducing trucks’ idle time
      
    • Optimizing cube utilization
      
    • Planning routes to reduce deadheading
      
  • Manufacturing
    
    • Choosing raw materials with a cradle to cradle framework
      
• Designating ways to calculate ROI on your sustainability activities
  
• Apart from fiscal gains, enjoying other benefits from your work
  
• Eg improved reputation in the community, stronger brand

Benefiting The Bottom Line With Green Warehouses And Distribution Centers – Incorporating The LEED Example

• Expanding on existing sustainability ideas already being used in storefront locations
  
  • Skylights
    
  • Solar panels on rooftops and carparks
    
  • Alternative refrigeration solutions
    
• Exploring new design for rooftops to reflect heat and collect water run-off
  
• Integrating conveying and handling systems to move and touch products fewer times and reduce forklift usage, reducing both energy consumption and emissions
  
• Recycling packaging materials once deliveries are made and boxes are opened
  
• Reducing lighting energy usage by up to 60% through efficient lighting
  
• Improving ventilation systems, resulting in a potential 40% reduction in power consumption

Taking A Business-Wide Approach To Sustainability

• Creating a dedicated, cross-functional team focused on sustainability
  
• Identifying clear metrics for supply chain
  
• Measuring monthly and building action plans according to results
  
• Attaching the same discipline to sustainability efforts as to other business-wide initiatives, such as cost-reduction or service
  
• Establishing short- and long-term timelines for results
  
• Enjoying the benefits of increased employee engagement, more responsible public image and organizational savings

PANEL DISCUSSION: Positioning Your Supply Chain Organization To Successfully Meet Emerging Green Business Requirements

• Developing a supply chain strategy to address changing expectations:
  
• Supplier risk management
  
• Energy commodity demand management
  
• Facility and fleet carbon production, measurement, reduction
  
• Determining where accountability will be held for buying and selling carbon credits
  
• Positioning your organization to manage carbon dioxide output:
  
  • Demand
    
  • Consumption
    
  • Output
    
  • Reduction
    
• Ensuring that the organization receives access to funding allocated to conservation-related programs

Working With Partners Both Upstream and Downstream To Understand The Full Environmental Impact Of Your Product And Business

• Creating a standardized approach for measuring the carbon footprint of supply chains
  
• Improving the environmental profile of your products across lifecycles
  
• Encouraging suppliers to measure and manage their greenhouse gas emissions
  
• Collecting information on greenhouse gas emissions, emissions reduction targets and climate change strategy
  
• Obtaining the necessary data to understand a company’s total carbon footprint, the first step to reducing its total environmental impact
  
• Developing a unified business approach to climate change

Using Sustainability As The Backbone For A Company-Wide Cost-Cutting Initiative

• Taking a cross-functional, collaborative approach to radically reduce costs in your operating systems
  
• Reducing packaging materials for distribution and observing the huge savings to be made
  
• Working with product development teams to change manufacturing processes, where relevant, so that incomplete items can be shipped to local “finishing plants” in a more easily transportable form
  
• Aligning transportation expenses with process losses and labor savings
  
• Using guided vehicles in warehouses to load and automate case picking processes
  
• Identifying IS improvements, automating where appropriate and working with software vendors to help generate new ideas
  

SUPPLY CHAIN AND COMMODITIES

Examining The Economics Of Today’s Commodity Markets And Price Dynamics

• Analyzing the relationship between market fundamentals and commodity price dynamics
  
• Oil and gas as an example: linking observable fundamentals to movements of the markets
  
• Looking at today’s market volatility and its long-term effect on commodity pricing
  
• Creating contracts that match price fluctuations to hedge against risk
  
• Partnering with your CFO to maximize profits

Aligning Your Commodity Purchases With Product Demand And Assuring Profit In A Radically Fluctuating Market

• Understanding that while feed stocks and commodities may become more expensive you cannot always pass the charges on to consumers
  
• Optimizing pricing in a challenging marketplace
  
• Working with your finance office to build a strategic commodity investment plan that reflects your manufacturing or supply chain needs
  
• Striving to find innovative approaches to cutting costs in your work processes
  
• Constantly examining opportunities and technologies in the marketplace to balance profit with supply and demand
  

SALES & OPERATIONS PLANNING

Making The Most Out Of A Hot-Selling Item

• Maintaining no back order, filling 100% of the order when received
  
• Monitoring fill rates and point-of-sale data regularly with the retailer, where those metrics exist
  
• Working in close partnership with retailers’ buyers to ensure their own sales forecasting is accurate
  
• Encouraging retailers to continue to observe sales which they report back to you, and being flexible enough to deliver small quantities at short notice to ensure their shelves are always full

Automating Replenishment Orders – Creating A Seamless Electronic Process From Shop Floor To Factory Floor

• Forecasting consumer demand and working back through buying systems to the manufacturer
  
• Employing software to look at point-of-sale information, inventory and an algorithm of historical and recent sales to calculate likely demand
  
• Using this data to automatically generate a purchase order, without having to be vetoed by an employee
  
• Giving yourself ample time to fully test new systems before rolling out software in stores
  
• Reaping the benefits of improved sales, reduced inventory and reduced out-of-stocks

Finding The Balance Between New Product Innovation And Managing The Products Already In Circulation

• Reconciling the conflict in needing to remain cost-effective while also dealing with the outlay required to introduce new products to market – the more you add, the more complicated things become
  
• Continually finding a way to differentiate relative to the competitive set, especially critical in a fast-moving consumer goods industry
  
• Initiate a process of SKU management or portfolio optimization
  
  • What is the right mix of products to offer to the marketplace?
    
  • How viable are they to the marketplace and how does that continue to change over time?
    
• Fine-tuning the portfolio, maximizing profit margins, giving the customer the products they need, rather than allowing them to be eliminated because they’re not moving
  
  • “Do unto yourself before they do unto you”
    
• Addressing the pressure felt by personnel to constantly deliver results and motivating them to look at their portfolio and take corrective action
  
• Recognizing that it’s often easier to continue to add than do nothing

Involving Supply Chain Personnel In New Product Development

• Employing processes such as lean manufacturing and late differentiation of product to finalize new goods as close as possible to launch date
  
• Working directly with sales, marketing and product development teams to track the creation and development of new ideas
  
• Realizing that the rate of change is so great today that effective communication between departments is imperative to success

Reinventing The Role Of Supply Chain Replenishment To Optimize Efficiency

• Shifting responsibilities so that the buyer’s primary responsibility is to decide which item will be carried and how to market it, then handing over the product portfolio to the replenishment team, who will purchase the items for the shelves
  
• Setting up direct lines of communication between replenishment team and suppliers
  
• Generating purchase from scanned sales rather than manual orders
  
• Sharing information and learning best practice from similar but non-competitive businesses

Pick A Number Between 1 And 10,000 – The “Lottery” Of New Product Launches

• Recognizing that no one in your sales and marketing team can truly forecast the demand of a new product launch
  
• Setting realistic marketing expectations for new goods, remaining flexible and being aware of the forecasting challenge
  
• Realizing that if you launch a new product in four different colors/flavors two might be a success and two probably won’t – how to handle the unknown of which two will win

Balancing The Need To Deal With Increased Demand While Effectively Delivering To Customized Customer Requests

• Prioritizing your customer’s needs to understand how best to deliver to that customer
  
  • More specific SKUs
    
  • Lower cost
    
  • Higher visibility
    
• Putting a laser-like focus on quantifying the value of improved customer service to attain the right cost-to-service ratio
  
• Gaining better insight into the cost of out-of-stocks to better optimize inventory
  
• Truly understanding and improving your specific offerings to each of your largest retail customers and customizing your delivery

S&OP Decisions And Process Implications – Obtaining Visibility Where It Matters Most

• Centralizing your planning efforts to drive the most value from your organization’s collective effort
  
• Combining top-down forecasting with field-level observations to take the most informed decisions concerning your information
  
• Sharing insights between retailers and suppliers to gain further insights into your supply chain’s operations
  
• Ensuring that your company maintains an ongoing demand/supply cooperation strategy, not just a monthly reporting process
  

DISASTER PLANNING AND RECOVERY

Outperforming The Market In Turbulent Times By Developing A Nimble Supply Chain

• Realizing that the S&OP process is an integral component of your disaster recovery planning
  
• Identifying and classifying supply chain risk to create a resilient enterprise
  
• Exploring the most probable challenges and the potential impacts on your value chain
  
• Understanding the various disaster recovery techniques and ensuring you have a solid plan moving forward

Examining The Most Important Qualities Of A Responsive Supply Chain

• Designing a flexible and responsive supply chain that adheres to lean principles
  
• Driving the ability to quickly reassess market conditions and change supply allocations to continue to drive top-line sales
  
• Developing best-in-class risk mitigation and disaster recovery plans
  
• Evaluating the options for the virtual office and preparing your workforce to work through the turmoil
  

Making Supply Chain Resistant To Terrorism = Mitigating Other Risks, Too

• Accepting that the government will continue to set mandates on terrorism, which will add costs to maintaining the supply chain
  
• Realizing that once you have calculated and mitigated the risk of terrorism in your supply chain you will be able to turn these new capabilities into a competitive advantage
  
• Developing the connection between security issues and making your supply chain less vulnerable to disruptions and events
  
• Reaping the benefits of a more flexible and secure supply chain